Mountains
by Lily of the Shadow
Summary: When you help someone up a mountain, you get that much closer to the top yourself. Unknown. Yuki takes a walk and runs into a young boy and tires to help him. How does the 7yearold boy help Yuki in return?


This is my first posted FruBa fic. It was spawned by seeing two episodes in a row featuring Yuki-sama and Ayame-sama, plus my own experiances with my brothers. This is a scene from antoher FruBa fic that won't be posted for a while, but with a little tweaking it works as a stand-alone one-shot. I may do a sequel where Ayame... well, I won't spoil it. Reviews are loved and cherished!

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"I HATE YOU!"

"LIKEWISE, BRAT!"

Yuki's quiet walk was interrupted by a shouting match from a hedged in front yard. He was startled to see the gate burst open and a young boy rush out, nearly in tears. The poor boy didn't seem to notice anything until he ran into the Rat and fell to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Yuki asked, kneeling down and holding a hand out to the boy.

"I'm f-fine." The boy replied shakily. He took a breath, wiped a tear from his bright blue eyes and calmed down a bit, then repeated himself. "I'm fine, thank you, sir."

Yuki was almost astounded at how polite the little boy was. "Call me Yuki. What's your name?"

"My name is Smith, Sammy." The boy replied. Yuki was silently impressed that the obviously American boy gave his name in the eastern format, and in Japanese, no less. The boy had been yelling in English before.

"Well, Smith-kun," Yuki smiled gently, "It isn't safe to go out on your own. Perhaps you should go back into your yard?"

The boy's mature façade vanished instantly as his face twisted into a childish distaste. "Yeah, right! My sister is in there, I don't want to see her! She's so MEAN!"

"Is that so?" Yuki said bemusedly, taking pity on the boy. "Well, then, if you will tell your mother where you are going, I could take you out for ice cream. Maybe some time away from your sister would be good."

"I was on my way out _anyway_." The boy announced. "Mommy already said I could, so long as I went with someone older."

"I see. Are you sure?"

"Yup!" The boy replied, grinning. Yuki took his word for it and then took his hand.

"Well then, Smith-kun, let's go."

They arrived at the ice-cream parlor about a half a mile away. It was in the middle of town but was remarkably empty. The boy jumped up onto one of the spinning stools and spun around as 7-year-old boys are won't to do. Yuki smiled and ordered two chocolate cones, to go. Sammy grinned widely and thanked Yuki as he took his own cone. Their plan was to eat it as they walked through the park.

"Why don't you get along with your sister?" Yuki asked suddenly.

"Because she's mean!" The boy pouted.

"How is she mean?" Yuki prodded gently. Sammy licked his cone as he thought before answering.

"She always sends me to bed when mom and dad are out, and she makes me stay in the yard when I don't want to and she never lets me read any of her books." He listed, counting on his still slightly pudgy fingers. He looked up at Yuki innocently as he licked his cone some more.

"I see." Yuki said, staring at his own cone. "How old is she?"

"She's seventeen, exactly ten years and two days older than me."

"Wow." Yuki said, smiling. "So you're seven."

Sammy nodded with a grin.

"I have an older brother, you know."

"You do?" Sammy asked, eyes wide. "But you're too old to have a brother!" He said innocently. Yuki laughed.

"Am I? Everyone can have brothers and sister. Even your parents." The boy looked astonished. "But you see, my brother… is ten years older than me, too. I know how you feel." Yuki confided. "I always looked up to him, though. I wished I could be kind of like him, always happy and outgoing."

"Really?"

"Yes, indeed." Yuki replied. "His name is Ayame. I still see him from time to time, and we still fight a lot, but I love him just the same."

"Yeah, but he's a boy! It's easier to like brothers, they're… well, nicer!"

"I always wished I could have a sister instead." Yuki said, grinning inwardly.

"Well I'll trade you! A sister for a brother!"

"I don't think we can do that, Smith-kun."

"Why not?" The boys crestfallen expression was almost too much. Yuki laughed again.

"Well, I think you'd miss your sister. Doesn't she do anything nice to you at all?"

The boy, instead of denying it instantly, appeared deep in thought. "Well… When there's only one ice-cream left in the freezer, she usually lets me have it. And if there are only a few mashed potatoes left! And… mom told me that she held me a lot when I was a baby. Do those things count?"

"Yes they do." Yuki said kindly. "Dose she do other stuff?"

"Yeah, sometimes." Sammy said, looking reluctant to divulge the information. "She helps me with the homework that my mom doesn't understand…"

"And?"

"And she sometimes lets me play on her computer. She taught me how to find games in the internet!"

"I wish I had a sister that cool." Yuki said, rolling his eyes heavenward and faking a deep sigh. It worked like he wanted, and he had to suppress a huge grin when the boy replied, swelling with pride.

"She's so smart! I bet she's smarter than you are!" Sammy declared. Yuki nodded.

"I'd bet she is." He fell silent, finishing his cone. He stood up, and Sammy followed suit. The little boy walked next to him, nearly skipping. They neared the house and the gate where the boy had burst out of the gate. A tall, blonde girl was frantically looking around, calling Sammy's name.

"Is that your sister, Smith-kun?"

"Yeah, it is."

"SAMMY!" The girl cried, spotting them and running over as fast as her long legs would carry her. She scooped the boy up and hugged him tightly. "I was so scared when you ran off like that! I'm so sorry I yelled at you, that was wrong of me to get so mad over a little splash." When she finally released him, the boy spat on the ground.

"Ick! Sister germs!"

Yuki chuckled. The girl looked up.

"Thank you so much for—Yuki!"

"Smith-chan, hello." Yuki smiled gently, raising an eyebrow at his classmate's disheveled state.

"Thank you so much, Yuki, for bringing him home."

"It's alright, don't think of it. Consider it payment for helping Tohru with her homework, since you wouldn't accept tutoring fees."

"Think nothing of it. Even, then?" She held out a hand. Yuki shook it, waved goodbye, and went on his way.

He walked home, deeply lost in thought.

He barely noticed as his feet carried him up to the house and up to his room. He sat down at his desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. He hesitated only a moment before putting pen to paper.

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_Dear Ayame,_

_No heart attacks, please. I just had to relay the most interesting conversation I had with a young boy, today… You see, I was out on a walk when I heard some people arguing. The next thing I know, I am nearly knocked over by a young boy who is nearly in tears over a fight with his big sister…

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_**FINE**_


End file.
